Saturday, February 25, 2012

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren where bloggers show what book they received that week, via mailbox, library, bought, borrowed or any other way. It's a great way to see who's reading what so make sure you head on over and join in!

This week I bought a couple of books and got one from the library. They are all books I've been dying to read! I ordered Someone Else's Life, but unfortunately it hasn't come yet :( I hope it comes next week!!! But I was still delighted with the other books!

Bought

Rebel by R.J. Anderson I've been wanting to read this for ages, and I saw it on sale, so of course I had to get it :)

Pretty Little Liars 7: Heartless by Sara ShepardI have to read this ASAP! Only two more books and we find out who 'A' is...!

Library

Percy Jackson and the Titan's Curse by Rick RiordanThis series is so great and funny! I'm reading this at the moment

Thursday, February 23, 2012

In sixteen-year-old Beatrice Prior’s world, society is divided into five factions – Abnegation (the selfless), Candor (the honest), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent) – each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue, in the attempt to form a “perfect society.” At the age of sixteen, teens must choose the faction to which they will devote their lives. On her Choosing Day, Beatrice renames herself Tris, rejects her family’s group, and chooses another faction. After surviving a brutal initiation, Tris finds romance with a super-hot boy, but also discovers unrest and growing conflict in their seemingly “perfect society.” To survive and save those they love, they must use their strengths to uncover the truths about their identities, their families, and the order of their society itself.

Divergent is one of the most thrilling books I've ever read! And it's also one of the best. If I had the time, I would have read it in one sitting! The story was amazing, so original and compelling. From page 1 I was engrossed in the story, and I read 60 pages sitting in the bookshop! Instead of waiting and buying it cheaper online, I just bought it because it was so addictive! And it was definitely worth the extra money :) It was written really well. the writing simple but effective, which always works brilliantly. I could imagine the characters like they were standing in front of me, and the I felt like I was in the adventure alongside the characters! And, you know how in action scenes in books, things are happening so fast and it's hard to follow what's going on? This was the only book I've read where that didn't happen! Seriously! I was totally absorbed, and it was just amazing! Maybe it's not that big a deal for other readers, but that's one thing that really stood out for me!

Tris was a fantastic protagonist. I was really happy with the factions she chose to join, I think she really belonged there! And it was really brave of her, which brings me to how brave she was! She was so loyal and courageous and would do anything for the people she loved. I love that in a character, especially a female one. Four, a mysterious, enticing trainer was probably my favourite character. I didn't like him at first, I thought he was annoying and arrogant. But once we got to 'know' him better, I loved him! He was funny, and kind and a great love interest for Tris. I felt for him and completely understood why he acted the way he did when we found out about his past. He was just the ultimate character! Peter - ugh! Now he on the other was the ultimate...well I can't really say, because I try to keep my reviews appropriate for all ages, but you get the gist! He was just EVIL! I could have killed him, I really could. He was such a bully, and he frickin' stabbed someone's eye!!! I mean who does that? What a physco! I just hated him so much. Really. I think he is my Number 1 most evil book villain. Voldemort, he knocks you right off the top spot ;)

I loved the idea for Divergent, it was so original. I've never read anything like it! The whole concept of the different factions was fantastic. I think I would choose to be in...Dauntless or Erudite. Or maybe Amity! I must admit, though I don't really understand the whole 'Divergent' thing. I understood it better towards the end than I did at the beginning but am still a bit confused! If you get it, would you please explain it to me in the comments? Thanks! :)

There were twists and turns on every page of Divergent and I had no idea what was coming next! It is a real edge-of-your-seat, exciting thriller, and has gotten me into the dystopian genre. I relished every word, and didn't want it to end! I can't wait for the sequel, Insurgent to come out. Veronica Roth is a fantastic new author, and has definitely made her mark on the YA fiction scene! This book deserves all of the praise it gets, and I would recommend it to boys, girls, adults, everybody! You are missing out on one of the best novels of 2011 if you don't read it! So I think you know what to do. READ IT! :)

Monday, February 20, 2012

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren where bloggers show what book they received that week, via mailbox, library, bought, borrowed or any other way. It's a great way to see who's reading what so make sure you head on over and join in!

Fantastic week I had! I went into a charity shop and got some great books, and my sister gave me a couple of books too! Here they are:

For reviewThe Look by Sophia BennettEeeeeeep! I was so delighted to get this, not only because of the gorgeous cover and the PINK PAGE EDGES but because Sophia is one of my favourite authors and her book are always brilliant! Look out for a review and blog tour for The Look in March!

BoughtStargirl by Jerry SpinelliAnother pink book :) This has a beautiful cover and I've heard it's amazing so I can't wait to read it.

Timeriders: The Eternal War by Alex ScarrowOMG does this look incredible or what! I've been dying to read this series, and even though it;s the fourth book, I don't care!

Hidden Child by Anne CassidyI actually have another of Anne's book that I haven't read, but this was very cheap and everyone says they're good, so... :)

Won/Gift...?Kitty Slade: Venus Rocks by Fiona DunbarThis just turned up in the post unexplained with a note saying congratulations! Hmmm, a mystery! As far as I'm aware I haven't one any competitions involving this book, but,I'm not one to turn down a free book! Especially because I love Fiona Dunbar and the first book in this series. And the cover is gorgeous too!

BorrowedAugust by Bernard BeckettThis looks good, it hasn't got the best reviews but I'll give it a go - especially because the cover is so cool!

Hunting Lila by Sarah AldersonYESSSS! Everyone says this is fantastic and I can't wait to read it!

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Lex Murphy and her friends have complicated relationships. If only there was a way to avoid the dating/hating drama...When Lex fills a cool new computer game with characters based on herself and her classmates, she makes some 'wishful thinking' adjustments to the profiles. Finally, everyone can be perfectly matched and happy, at least on screen. Love, Life, Looks - it's all under Lex's control in a harmless game.After all, these changes can't come true... can they?

I love Luisa's books! They are really funny and I always really enjoy them. I had been waiting for Kiss Date, Love Hate to be published for ages and had high expectations for it. And did it live up to them? YES!!! I adored it! It was hilarious, surprising, original, well-written and addictive! And while reading it, sometimes I liked to just flick back to the front of the book and admire the gorgeous cover! Isn't it just fantastic? I love the colours and the little people (what characters do you think they are? I can't work it out! I know the girl must be Lex but what about the others?), the way the title is made out of little pixels, and all the symbols in the middle like the exclamation marks and stars and stuff!

The characters, and the different relationships they had with each other, were one of the best parts of this book for me. They were well thought out, believable and had great personalities. I liked the main character Lex, and felt sorry for her because her old best friend had stolen her boyfriend and her other best friend was too obsessed with exams to spend time with her. So Lex is now best friends with George, an awkward, but kind boy who convinces her to attend a film - making course with him over the mid-term.

Lex was genuine, funny, and relatable, and I really liked her! George was great too, really cute! Lex's ex-boyfriend Matt was - ughh! He was an idiot, to put it politely ;) I couldn't understand why Lex liked him! He was so annoying, and moaning all the time. He was just such a pain, and I was incredibly irritated by him. Well done Luisa, it takes skill to make a reader feel that way about a character! And Lex's ex-friend and and Matt's girlfriend Gemma...I'm not really sure how I felt about her! I didn't *hate* her but I didn't particularly like her either! We didn't get to see a lot of Jess, Lex's other best friend, which was a pity, because when we did 'meet' her, it seemed like she had a lot of character potential!

My favourite character was Drew, who is Jess (one of Lex's friend's) cousins, who Lex finds herself slowly falling in love with. But she keeps telling herself that she wants to be with Matt, not Drew. Drew was much nicer, funnier and all-round better than Matt! He was 'dark' and mysterious, and Lex and him were great together. And when we really found out more about the real him at the end, I liked him even more! Drew was a wonderful character, and he really added to the story!

I have to admit, I wasn't crazy on the film-making-course setting, because I'm not really a film-making sort of person, and it was in the woods, and I just really don't like woods in books. I don't know why, they seem a little...boring! But luckily for me, a lot of the scenes didn't take place on the course. That's my only complaint about the book!

Kiss Date Love Hate, like all of Luisa's books was hilarious! But I think this might have been the funniest yet! There was just so many times when I was laughing out loud read it. And if there's one thing that I like, it's a book that makes me laugh!

I couldn't put this book down! I was reading when I should have been sleeping, which led to not being able to get up in the morning...But it was worth it! The writing is engrossing, making you want to read on. And the whole concept of the book is fantastic. I mean, being able to change all the aspects of your own life and those around you using a video game?! Awesome! I'm sure we'd all love to be able to do that! I know I would! I did think George and Lex accepted it a little too quickly, I mean I would have been shocked and in disbelieve if it happened to me. But I suppose they only had a week to use it, so they had to get used to it quickly! The ending of Kiss Date Love Hate was brilliant, with lots of surprises, some stuff I did see coming and others that came as an absolute shock!

Overall I loved this book. If you are a fan of funny chick-lit with a bit of fantasy thrown in,I know you will love it too!

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Every week bloggers participating create a Top Ten list based on that week's theme. This week's theme is Top Ten Books That Broke My Heart a Little! Now I'm not the type of person that cries reading books. In fact I never have. Not even at the end of Harry Potter! I know you're all thinking 'what a cold-hearted old witch', yeah yeah. But I just don't!The only book that had me even close to tears was :The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson. Sorry, I'm always going on about that book, aren't I?! But it''s just soooooo good! Anyway, it's more movies that make me cry - My Sisters Keeper=tear fest, Dobby dies=tear fest, and so on, you get the picture! However, there is a few books that really brought me down, or 'broke my heart'! So here they are:

1. The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy NelsonObviously! So sad, yet happy, moving and wonderful! The scene where I had a lump in my throat in the one near the end where Lenny is talking to her grandmother - you'll understand if you've read it!

2. Delirium by Lauren OliverThis made me pretty sad!

3. Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay AsherI'm not even sure if I liked this book! I'm still trying to make up my mind! But it did break my heart a bit...

4. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K RowlingI probably would have been crying, if I hadn't been expecting Dumbledore's death. Unfortunately, a friend annoyingly told me when I was on like the first book! But I was still very upset! :(

5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. RowlingTHIS CLOSE from crying, I was, THIS CLOSE, but...alas, nooo! No tears :) Although I cried plenty during the movie!

And that's all! I couldn't think of more than five books that broke my heart! What about you, readers?

Monday, February 13, 2012

IMMIn My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren where bloggers show what book they received that week, via mailbox, library, bought, borrowed or any other way. It's a great way to see who's reading what so make sure you head on over and join in!

This is my first IMM since October 2011! I was planning to do a huge IMM, showcasing all of the books I received during my blogging break, but I decided not to, because it would take to long and just be too much trouble! So I'm just going to tell you about the books I got this week:

Library:Pretty Little Liars #5: Wicked (not pictured)Pretty Little Liars #6: Killer by Sara ShepardI love this series! It's amazing :) I've already read Wicked, so I returned it to the library and got Killer which was also brilliant!

CHERUB: Class A by Robert MuchamoreI loved the first in this series, and have wanted to read this for ages, so I was delighted to find it at the library.

Somebody Everybody Listens To by Suzanne SuppleeI hadn't heard of this before, but it sounds good, and I love the cover!

Taking the Plunge by Helen BaileyI loved the first in this series, it was hilarious!

Curtain: Poirot's Last Case by Agatha ChristieI've never read anything by Christie before, but she's a classic author so I thought I should read one of her books!

For review:Medusa Girls #1: Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn ChildsI love this author, and am loving the Ancient Greek theme in books at the moment! I can't wait to read this. The finished cover is beautiful, but I got an ARC which has, admittedly, a pretty cool cover too!

(Sorry for no pictures!)

What did you get in your mailbox?

New Blog ButtonI know I've made a couple of blog buttons in the past, and looking back on them, they were kind of ugly, although I thought them fantastic at the time! So I decided to make a NICE blog button, once and for all! So here it is:

You may have seen it already, because it's been on the sidebar for a few days, but I just thought I'd show it to you! So what do you think?

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Every week bloggers participating create a Top Ten list based on that week's theme. This week's theme is 'Top Ten Books I'd Hand to Someone Who Says The Don't Like To Read'. Here's my list:

Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone by J.K. Rowling

The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

CHERUB: The Recruit by Robert Muchamore

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

Cirque Du Freak by Darren Shan

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Girl, Missing by Sophie McKenzie

Split by a Kiss by Luisa Plaja

Threads by Sophia Bennett

Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen by Dyan Sheldon

Do you agree with my list? What books would you give to someone who doesn't like reading?

Saturday, February 4, 2012

It is the darkest hour of the darkest Age. King Arthur is dead, killed by his wicked nephew, Mordred. Saxon invaders rampage across the land and forces of evil are gathering. The path to the throne lies open to Arthur's only remaining flesh and blood - Mordred. But there is one with a better claim than Mordred - Arthur's secret child. Brought by Merlin to enchanted Avalon as a baby and raised there for protection, the king's heir must take up a vital quest: to search for the four magical Lights with the power to restore Arthur's soul to his body. Introducing Rhianna Pendragon: unlikely princess and Camelot's last hope.

I really wanted to like this book, I did. But I just...didn't. I tried hard to get into it, but I found it boring! It wasn't a bad book as such, I just didn't feel compelled to read on. The characters were the only part that I liked. They didn't feel very real, but they had good personalities, especially Cai and Rhianna. And Mordred was a great villain too!

I did not actually finish reading this book, so maybe this 'review' isn't fair, but I just thought I owed it to the publisher that sent it to me, the very kind Templar, to write something about it! Now I'm not saying this book is 'bad' or anything, I just didn't really like it, personally. I'm sure others may enjoy it, but it just wasn't for me!

I don't know if you know, but I am a huge fan of Darren Shan, a children/ teen and adult fantasy/horror author and was absolutely DELIGHTED to see he mentioned my blog on his website, in his February newsletter. I included his two of his books, Ocean of Blood and Palace of the Damned on my Top Ten Book of 2011 post and he saw and mentioned my blog in the newsltter! *does happy dance* I just thought I'd write a short post to let you know about it. Darren is a brill author, read his books! Check out the newsletter and the rest of his great website here. See you!

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Today, I welcome to Bookster Reviews, the one, the only, Luisa Plaja! Luisa is the author of four books,Split by a Kiss, Extreme Kissing,Swapped by a Kiss, and her latest book,Kiss Date Love Hate, available to buy (which you should!) from 2nd February this year. She also runs teen fiction blog Chicklish, and wrote a book for interactive e- fiction site, Fiction Express, called Diary of a Mall Girl. She wrote a short story featured in the short story book Truth or Dare. Luisa is great, she is lovely and is a fantastic author. She kindly agreed to let me ask her a few questions, and here are her answers. Enjoy!

1. Tell us a bit about yourself...Hello! I'm Luisa and I love reading, writing and everything to do with words. I was born in Scotland and grew up in Italy and England, and I've always wished I could be an ice-skater but... yeah, no. I've also always wanted to be a writer. Yay!

2. Did anyone (or anything) in particular inspire you to become an author?Really it was a love of reading and of stories. I fell in love with books at an early age and I always wanted to tell my own stories. Later in life, I was inspired and encouraged by my fabulous writing friends. (You'll see some of their names listed in the acknowledgments of my books!) Readers and book bloggers also inspire me.

3. Which character from your books do you think you are most like? There are aspects of me in all of them, but the answer is probably Jo from Split by a Kiss. And I mean Jo the Nerd, of course. :)

4. Could you tell us about your new book, Kiss Date Love Hate?It's the story of a girl and a boy who make profiles for themselves and their friends in a computer game, make 'wishful' alterations to the settings and then find that the changes come true in real life, giving them the power to control their friends' lives and loves. It's a novel about changes, romance, friendship, family and love.

5. How did you come up with the idea for Kiss Date Love Hate?The idea was triggered by lots of things, including the movie Jurassic Park, but one of the main inspirations was watching my then 13-year-old niece playing a Sims game, and thinking, "What if..."6. Was it hard to get your first book published?Yes and no. I'd spent years and years thinking that publication was an impossible dream, so that part was hard. But when I finally plucked up the courage to submit the novel that became Split by a Kiss, I ended up floating through the process... in a bit of a dream-like state, come to think of it!7. Are your characters based on anyone you know?Of course not! *runs away* ;)No, seriously, they're all from my imagination. I promise.

8. Hard question now! What is your favourite book of all time? Or if it's too hard your favourite books!It's really, really hard, but if I absolutely have to narrow it down to just one novel, it's Masha by Mara Kay, which I read hundreds of times when I was little. It's out of print now. Sob. You can read more about it here: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/327184.Masha

9. What did you do before you became a writer?Lots of wordy jobs! I worked on dictionaries, defining words and idioms. I worked in television subtitling for people with hearing difficulties. I worked on linguistic computer software. And more...10. What would be your dream job if you weren't a writer now?Anything to do with words, really! Although I've also often vaguely fancied being a long-distance lorry driver. I'm sure I'd dream up stories as I trundled up and down the country...

11. Finally, what is your best advice for aspiring writers?Read a lot, write a lot, enjoy it... and don't be put off!

Quick round!

Twitter or Facebook? I'm on both, but... yes, Twitter.

Tea or Coffee? Tea! Tea! And more tea!

Chocolate or Sweets? Again both, but sweets win in the end. Chocolates often get a bit too fancy for me. ;)

Mystery or Fantasy? Er... argh... Stories! LOL

Reading or Writing? Writing! Especially if there are other people around and they're also writing, so that I can read their stories... *totally cheats*

Thank you very much for your wonderful interview questions, Cliona!You're welcome Luisa, it was great having you here!